BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Lizzie Carmichael (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming) posted a team-high 15 kills and added six total blocks as the Washington & Jefferson College volleyball team earned a five-set road win over Geneva College Thursday evening in a Presidents' Athletic Conference match at the Metheny Fieldhouse. 

The victory gives W&J double-digit wins for the first time since 2018. Coincidentally enough, the victory is the first over Geneva since 2018, when the Presidents swept the season series from the Golden Tornadoes. 

The Presidents, who won just three matches last fall, are now 10-7 overall. W&J is 2-3 at the halfway point of PAC play. The loss drops Geneva to 8-12 overall and 2-3 in league matches. 

W&J 3, Geneva 2 (25-22, 25-23, 12-25, 19-25, 15-9) 

The Presidents opened the night with a tight 25-22 victory in the opening set. Neither team led by more than two pounts until the GT's used a service ace by Ashley Monroe to take a 19-16 advantage and force a W&J timeout. The Presidents responded with four straight points to regain the lead. After a Geneva kill evened the score at 20-20, W&J used three straight points to take its largest advantage of the first set. Jaden Blough (Meyersdale, Pa./Meyersdale) tallied back-to-back kills to cap the run. W&J eventually finished off the set one win by tallying the final two points. 

The second set replicated the first one, as neither team could build much of a lead as the two teams traded points throughout. Geneva eventually built a four-point lead with a serive ace by Nelson, which made it 21-17. W&J once again rallied back to claim the set. The Presidents pulled in front with five consecutive points. Carmichael accounted for four of the five points with two successful attacks before combining with Claire Sauerland (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) for a pair of blocks. Geneva would even the score at 23-23 but W&J finished off the set win with kills by Carmichael and Sauerland. 

Faced with a 2-0 deficit, Geneva would not go quietly. The hosts raced out to an early lead in the third set before registering a decisive 25-12 victory. The fourth set was more competitive but again the home team rode an early lead to a 25-19 victory. 

W&J flipped the script in the fifth set. Trailing by a 4-3 margin, the Presidents ripped off six straight points to take a five-point lead. Blough came through in the clutch with four points during the run, which included three kills and a block assist. W&J was able to ride that momentum home for the victory, as the Red and Black led by at least three points the rest of the way. The Presidents tallied the final three points of the night. 

Blough and Fetsko joined Carmichael with double-digit kills. Blough registered 12 successful attacks, including four pivotal kills during the decisive fifth set. Fetsko finished with 11 kills and 18 digs. Adrianna Sacramento (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) racked up 46 assists to go along with a 13-dig effort.

Defensively, Piper McFarland (West Mifflin, Pa./Cornerstone Preparatory Academy) finished with a match-high 30 digs. Sauerland chipped in nine kills, 10 digs and three total blocks. 

W&J hosts Thiel College for another conference contest on Saturday, Oct. 15. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.